


All That Glitters

by ShySpaceBoy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Butterfly Rituals, Awkward First Times, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Eventual Smut, Fluff, Kinda, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Mutual Pining, Sex Pollen, These two are dorks, Top Lance (Voltron), klance, love bug au, the usual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-03-10 23:55:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13512414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShySpaceBoy/pseuds/ShySpaceBoy
Summary: On a mission to locate an ancient alien civilization, Lance learns a little bit about himself in a way he didn't expect.





	1. Chapter 1

  
"So how long will we be here, exactly? This planet doesn't have exactly the most... _hospitable_ conditions." Hunk asked Allura nervously, trailing behind her along with his fellow Paladins. She replied with a confident “Just long enough!” and continued merrily, somewhat oblivious to the conditions of her fellow Paladins. Hunk craned his neck to the sky, and then back in the direction they came from. They weren't too far from the castle, but it was almost impossible to see through the thick fog and large twisting foliage native to the area. The other Paladins followed his example, all attempting to keep the castle (or at least the direction the castle was in) in sight. This turned out to be quite difficult, with the fog and gray sky melding together. Being consistently in the shadow of the insanely huge beanstalk-like trees didn't help much either. The massive apparitions on the horizon towered even over their lions, and rivaled the castle's height and grandeur. They were definitely trees, but with a shade of dull green on their twisted trunks. If you were close enough, you could see it had small branches (small compared to the rest of the tree, that is) that resembled baobab trees from Earth. Vines just as large as the trunks themselves ran along the ground and tied trees together in a network, with smaller plants fighting desperately to stay alive on top of the monstrous greenery.

The paladins trekked diligently along the natural paths. While not ideal, it was better than other terrain they've had to travel through on foot. Allura explained that this in fact wasn't how the Dyclarzins moved about, as they were actually much larger than humans or Alteans; Most of what they saw now was terribly overgrown. The trunks grew up in a near wedge shape towards the sky, which would allow beings of a smaller size (in this case humanoids) to climb up the ridges like steep steps, although the paladins themselves kept in the valley created by the hulking alien trees. They were spread around the skyline, sharing it with the Castle of Lions in the distance. The glow of the castle's silhouette stood dimly in the sky behind them, becoming worryingly faint. Some of the Paladins started to object about going back to get their lions, but allura quickly hushed them. She insisted that if the ancient civilization they were searching for still existed here, giant flying contraptions wouldn't be the best way to introduce themselves. Besides, if anything happened, Coran was back at the castle and could quickly come to their rescue.

Their brief mission was simply to try and locate the Dyclarzin people, or the ruins of what once was their home. Allura remembered them from before she was frozen, but their society was _always_ teetering on collapse, even before the Galra targeted them ten thousand years ago. The citizens of Dychlarzene had been very helpful to the Alteans however, as they had abundant natural resources to provide with help from their incredible size, both biologically and industrially. Nobody had seen signs of intelligent life so far, and they were armed only with rumors told of ancient Dyclarzins still inhabiting the area. Allura explained that they were Altean-like. The exceptions being an extra set of arms, bulkier features, grayish skin to match the landscape, and about an average height of three times that of an Altean (which, interestingly enough was about a few inches taller than the average human).

Allura was clearly keeping this mission up because she was desperate to see a familiar people that wasn't the Galra for a change. They all knew nothing would likely come from this mission, and that it'd be short and useless, so they decided to humor her. They didn't count on the difficulty of navigation however, or the stubborn flora. They knew Allura would be unwavering in her plans, no matter the conditions as always, but the harshness of getting from point A to point B was not appreciated by anyone. Large, vertical roots and vines varying from the size of Earth tree trunks to a second story building took up their path. Some of the branches, to the team’s dismay, appeared to be felled by something. Something most likely living. They soon encountered some unintelligent life, like gray, eight-legged salamanders the size of Komodo dragons and purple butterflies with a wingspan three times the size of a humanoid's head. The most worrying thing from their trip however, was the sighting of a few mangled ships caught in the trees, with no traces of a crew, or former crew for that matter.

Most of the team was uneasy and cautious, slowly inching forward. The Paladins were already taken off guard by the strange landscape, but the few odd occupancies somewhat threw them for a loop. Lance especially had difficulty maneuvering, as he was too busy gawking at incredible sights unfolding before him. Lance had tripped and stumbled a few times from staring, earning warnings glares from the team, who insisted he keep as quiet and careful as possible. After all, fauna that big must mean a larger predator nearby, just waiting to kill them all. It annoyed Lance how serious every single mission had to be, especially when this was supposed to be less serious than all the others. Keith especially seemed to catch Lance in the act, shushing him and sulking like a pissed off librarian. Lance wasn't even trying to piss him off this time! It was Keith that seemed the most on edge, catching him seemingly whenever he was about to mess up, almost as if he could sense it. At one point, Lance had climbed a bit higher up the sides of the vines than the rest, swearing he could see a waterfall in the distance. He saw large flocks of shimmering Dychlarzin butterflies, all heading towards the direction he claimed it was in. Not only did he get a scolding for getting distracted, but he almost fell, sending the Paladins around them into a brief panic. By the time he was situated firmly on the ground, Keith was there fully ready to reprimand him.

Lance grumbled to himself as he sagged along, completely ignoring whatever dumb lecture Keith was bombarding him with at that point. He was really starting to get sick of Keith's criticism. He wished just once for them to go to a nice beach planet and just chill out, or _something_. Lance definitely missed the beach, but they could just have fun on a weird new planet in general, _any_ planet.

_Maybe we could surgically remove the stick up Keith's ass before it causes any medical problems._  He thought to himself gloomily.

He pouted irritably as he closely followed Keith's footsteps, who had taken the lead at an aggressive pace. Behind the cover of a large, diagonally fallen branch, he turned and faced the rest of the Paladins.

"Alright, everyone. Be careful, and especially be _quiet_." Keith shot Lance a glare, which was met with glowering. Lance crossed his arms defensively, now tuning out the majority of what he was saying. "We're about to reach the site of what used to be a Dyclarzin village. Everyone be prepared. We have no idea what could be up ahead. Remember to keep your bayards ready, and don't seperate from the group…" He sounded almost exactly like Shiro, Lance realized disgustedly. He really kinda hated Keith as a leader. Right when he'd thought of Keith as an equal, a friend even, he'd become all bossy. Shiro Jr., except there was absolutely no fun allowed, _ever_. Shiro would humor them, admittedly not during a mission, but he wasn't a giant hardass like Keith. Lance would take anything but drill sergeant Keith as his leader. The worst part was, it didn't even have to be like this.

They were so close to being friends. Lance wondered if Keith literally didn't know how to have fun. Okay that was a teensy bit of an exaggeration, but maybe this was his version of fun, completely humiliating Lance. Acting like he's so much better than him, too good to hang out with him, too good to even acknowledge their rivalry. Just too cool to just send a smile his way once in awhile.

Some part of Lance's brain whispered that Keith _was_ too good for him. He's the extra Paladin. No matter what anyone said, Shiro should be in the Black Lion. Keith should be in Red, and Allura has more than earned the respect of blue. His annoyance dissolved into self loathing, and then back into annoyance. Keith probably does think he's all that, basically being Shiro's brother. He probably just strolled right into the garrison and had everything handed to him.

Lance's thought process dissolved into incoherent, meaningless rambling. Lance didn't mean (or even understand) half the things he was thinking, but he was a little bit high strung from earlier. Not to mention the scolding he'd received leaving him feeling a bit ruffled. Lance was sick of the feeling of being the extra. Least important Paladin in space, least important sibling back at home. He couldn't even catch a break in space.

A mix of self consciousness and jealousy has been brewing inside him for pretty immature reasons, but all in all he couldn't find himself staying angry very long. All the bad thoughts and insecurities he had presented to himself stated to get a little too real. His mind began to wander back to the fantasy scenario of making Keith smile.  
  
When the team scrambled past the vine that had sheltered their conversation as best as they could, they found nothing but more vines on the other side. Allura _insisted_ there was supposed to be more there, digging into the thick vines they were standing on with her heel. "It's just overgrown!" She insisted, the cheer in her tone wavering. "I'm sure it's here somewhere…"

The only proof of this planet ever being inhabited was a stone plate set on the ground, discovered underneath the layers of plant life. At first Allura thought it was a trap door, ordering her crew to help her lift it. All that was underneath was soil, which Lance noted had a purple tint to it, as well as the stone itself. The plate was large and would have been perfectly round if not for the heavy erosion around its perimeter. Upon lifting it, they discovered alien text inscribed on the underside of the disc. Allura could read the symbols carved into it, and she grimly translated that it was an account of the last moments the Dyclarzin people, recorded before the Galra had finished them for good.

She briefly told of the Galra overpowering what few forces Dyclarzene had to offer (as they were never very military centered), and of the enemy ships landing around this exact spot. Allura refused to finish the translation. Rather, she put on her best diplomat face and attempted to not look grave as they began the march back to the castle. Some darker, mature undertones were present in her face, but she insisted on positivity, thus the conversation got gradually more cheery.

Shiro wasn't completely convinced they were alone on the planet, but the rest of the group dismissed it. They were used to his paranoid behavior, and as much as they respected and trusted Shiro, anything that could put up a fight must've been killed a long time ago. They weren't staying very long anyway. They had plans to leave in the next rotation of Dyclarzene. Nothing seemed to fully calm Shiro until Allura pulled him to the side, discussing something inaudible. Lance barely noticed. He was slightly surprised Keith wasn't becoming paranoid as well, seeing as he mirrored Shiro more and more each planetary movement. Either way, they left the site in a somewhat more playful mood, and that presented opportunities Lance was ready to take.

What mattered to him was a few things; Allura was okay after learning about the Dyclarzin people's ill fate, he could finally be loud and goof off on this planet (which was practically a magical alien playground), and Keith seemed to be out of leader mode. To Lance's astonishment, he began to joke around with Hunk and Pidge in a reserved way classic to himself. He took extra time to process jokes, like humor was a second language to him, and laughed timidly, if he even understood the joke. It was mind blowing to Lance how such a hardass can be so passive and timid a second later. Lance adored seeing him happy, but of course he does with all his teammates. There was nothing _special_ about Keith- it's just that it was so rare and beautiful to see him smile and hear his fragile laugh. Lance wasn't usually that close of a listener, and it was so easy to miss it that he _had_ to pay more attention. That's all it really was. He didn't realize how unusually quiet he was being until Hunk called out to him.

"Lance, I think there is a waterfall over there!" The Yellow Paladin pointed to a vague, cloudy space before them. Lance squinted into it, being able to make out a faint silhouette of some kind of cliff. He was about to hurt his eyes straining to make out much of anything from the fog, when a great Dyclarzin butterfly soared over his head. He took a moment to marvel at the magenta creature as it flew; It was bird-like in its motions, soaring on its great wings towards the same thing Hunk had been pointing at. It semi-confirmed Lance's theory that all the butterflies lived in a secret cave behind the waterfall, and had secret butterfly meetings discussing secret butterfly things with their secret butterfly society of secret butterflies. Not to brag or anything, but he totally called it.

They watched the brilliantly colored insect for a short while as it disappeared, becoming obscured in the fog. The Paladins sent knowing glances each other's way. Hunk nodded at Lance, who nodded at Pidge. They grinned devilishly in silent agreement.

"Hey, Allura? Can we follow it? Y'know, for science reasons? I mean, it won't kill us. Right?" Hunk asked sheepishly, grinning wide. Allura sighed in a maternal fashion, yet smiled subtly. "Yes, I suppose. But keep together, and have your bayards with you. I'm sure nothing here is dangerous, I'm rather familiar with this planet. Just keep in touch, alright? Shiro and I are going to return to the castle, as planned. I'm afraid I need some rest." Allura turned away, one hand cradling her cheek. She gave in faster than usual, probably exhausted from the nostalgic (and rather tragic) subject of today’s mission. She definitely looked drained, and appeared to have bags under her eyes, most likely from the disheartening news. Deep down she must've known the rumors were too good to be true.

Shiro looked as though he was going to object, but reconsidered, stopping Keith on the side to give him a stern warning separate to the others. He then started in the direction Allura was in, also appearing just as tired. The subject of genocide was all too real to him as well, something Lance could never really understand. He felt a slight helplessness in the ability to properly empathize with them. The age old worry of his legitimacy as a paladin resurfaced, causing his stomach to twist. He wondered if he really was the least mature of the group. He had never endured something horrible like the rest of the crew, and something horrible in the back of his mind wished he had. He wasn't sure if it was necessary to mature, or to understand the senior Paladins better, or just to be a proper Paladin in general. He settled on the thought that he’d never really know unless he had been like them from the beginning.

Shiro and Allura occasionally looked back at the group, but the other Paladins were gone in seconds. Lance took off immediately, tone switching to ecstatic as he was finally able to go on an adventure just for the fun of it. He _needed_ to burn some negative energy. Pidge and Hunk followed quickly, and to Lance's amazement Keith trailed not far behind them. He was about four feet behind Hunk, but he seemed somewhat intrigued, and possibly even inclined to be around them. Lance didn't let himself stare at how out of place and unfamiliar Keith appeared. He continued full speed ahead, hoping that maybe if he didn't make it too weird, Keith would stay with them and maybe even hang out more often. Not like there was anything special about Keith specifically wanting to hang out with them, it was just unusual. Lance wished Keith's happiness wasn't such a rare sight to see. He'd maybe even admit he liked Keith's company. 

The butterflies all headed in the direction of the waterfall, which became more visible the closer they got. It's water was crystal blue in stark contrast with the mostly gray sky. It flowed separate halfway down the incline, splitting in two over a large crystalline rock of a similar shade to the water. It had barely been eroded by the looks of it. The water parted dramatically and revealed an opening in the face of the cliff. It was elevated from where they were and seemed narrow from a distance, but was surely tall enough inside for a humanoid to fit. It opened like the jaw of a creature, with stalagmites and stalactites reaching out from its edges. The space from the cave to the bottom was jagged rock, until it reached a pool of water at the end that the falls fed into. Plants, similar to what they’d seen all day, covered most of the ground around it. The pool was lower than the vines that made up the ground, and it appeared to flow underneath everything. Larger vines twisted up around the two streams of water, cradling them in delicate natural arches, and conveniently creating a method in which to climb up.

More butterflies were visible, and from what they could see they were filtering up into the cave. Lance and the others followed suit, climbing the gangly stems to where the enchanting insects reside. It wasn't terribly steep because of the way the vines sloped and turned, but it did take a bit of energy. It also was a little difficult to avoid the water; Keith wasn't the best in aquatic circumstances, and Lance had to choke back laughter when he slipped into the water below after he lost his grip on the wet vines. Luckily, he hadn't been too far off the ground. So maybe it was okay to laugh a little. Keith didn't catch him laughing, though. Lance didn't want to scare him off. 

When Lance reached the top ahead of the rest, he slipped inside and crouched quietly, silently hoping Allura was right about the butterflies being harmless. He wasn't scared of harmless old butterflies of course, just who knows what such a large one could do to someone. And they were alien, so they could have like, shark teeth or something. It's always good to be prepared for butterfly-sharks. Of course that seems unrealistic to many, but that's how they get you. The element of surprise- it's what they're known for. But Lance was one step ahead of their tricks.

Pidge inched in behind Lance once he was comfortably inside. Hunk and Keith followed, all of them setting their helmets down beside them. Keith checked their surroundings sharply, including where they came from outside of the cave. He leaned out slightly, and then lurched back suddenly at the dizzying height. Keith scrambled backwards into Lance, who would've shouted under normal circumstances, but was desperately trying to suppress the noise they were making in case of the aforementioned shark-murder-flies. Lance and Keith both fell backwards, Keith half in between Lance’s legs. They all held their breath, hoping there wasn't anything to hear their sudden movements. They were frozen like deer in headlights, exchanging worried glances. Lance's heart was pounding like a jackhammer, partially because of how _close_ Keith was to him currently. He was a few inches away from Lance, his body was tense and still. Lance was a little surprised at Keith’s strange outburst; He, albeit jumpy, normally wasn't the scared type. Lance wanted to give him a comforting pat on the back, but that could range from causing horrible awkwardness to a swift punch in the face, so he left him alone. Plus, he knew about Keith's aversion to human contact. Lance shifted his focus back to the cave as his eyes continued to adjust to the darkness.

The section they were in was empty, but there was another smaller cavity deeper in the cave. In the section they were in, the cave ceiling was about 12 feet up, but they kept crouching in case some cave dwelling beast saw them. They inched towards the back where the smaller section was, which had about a foot of rock rising from the floor acting as a natural border between them. Lance peered inwards and saw another large crystal illuminating the smaller room, similar to the one from outside. Plus what had to be a hundred butterflies gathered around it, all in brilliant shades of pink, purple, and primarily magenta. The gang moved next to the tiny rock wall, Lance noticing that Keith kept beside him. Lance shoved it out of his mind. Pidge was on his other side. Nothing weird about standing next to a friend. Lance mentally scolded himself for noticing such insignificant things all the time.

"What is that? What do you think they’re doing in there?" Lance whispered, getting immediately shushed by Pidge. They all stared, silently as possible as the butterflies all gathered up in the center of the cave. They fluttered around each other, surrounding the crystal until it was no longer visible. "Dude, Lance, you were right! It's a bunch of butterfly Freemasons." Hunk mumbled. Lance snorted, and Pidge giggled as silently as humanly possible. Lance peeked over at Keith who was suppressing a smile. He was very suddenly struck with the realization that fuck… Keith's kinda cute. Happiness was probably the best look on Keith, but that was just an observation. Lance once again didn't let his eyes linger long, for obvious reasons, but also because there was some strange butterfly fuckery going on in front of him, and like hell was he gonna miss it. Lance hoped Keith didn't see that he looked at him. God that would be awful to explain.

The Dyclarzin insects flapped about, creating small gusts of wind that blew over the Paladins. From the distance they were at, Lance got a perfect view of the monstrous bugs. They had three pairs of compound eyes, horns in various places on their heads, and weird bug fangs. Not shark teeth, but close enough. The scales making up their shimmering wings were visible, and their incredible size was clear up close. It occurred to the group almost simultaneously just how small they were in comparison. It made Lance nervous, but they looked harmless enough, even with the horns and teeth. Upon further inspection, they were blunt and most likely would be ineffective in injuring them. Maybe bruises, but they were too short, the butterflies would have to get very close in order to harm one of them. Hopefully that wouldn't happen.

They did have their bayards just in case, but Lance didn't wanna hurt such a captivating creature. The beasts did seem to have some kind of hypnotizing effect, Lance could feel it in the air. Maybe it was just him, but he felt drawn to them.

The Paladins stared in awe as the butterflies began to synchronize, getting into rings around the crystal. The innermost and outermost rings fluttered counterclockwise, and the others in the middle fluttered clockwise, all emitting pink sparkles into the air. The Paladins gasped in unison, not remembering to keep quiet this time. The pink glitter in the air mixed with the blue of the now faintly glowing crystal before them was breathtaking. Lance watched his teammates' faces, and how the colors reflected off of them. His eyes met Keith's suddenly, and he was starting to feel some butterflies of his own in his stomach.

Keith’s violet eyes shone as light danced across his skin, matching perfectly with the pink dust flowing around them both. Lance hoped the colors on his face would hide his sudden, embarrassing blush. They kept eye contact, Lance increasingly frustrated at his inability to read Keith's expressions, and increasingly nervous at the extended interaction. They finally broke away when a soft hum started to fill the room. Something seemed to possess Lance. He had to do _something_. What he didn't know, he just felt something strong pull at his soul, urging him to make a move. Stand up, look back at Keith, anything- his mind began to race as his body became overwhelmed with adrenaline and nerve.

"Pst! Keith!" Lance whispered, nervousness rising in his throat. His impulsive need to show off would be the death of him, but right now he wasn't thinking too hard. Keith brought his gaze back to Lance's, with twinge of confusion in his eyes. Lance gulped and stuttered, stuck in some strange limbo between restless and stunned. "I'm gonna get a closer, look, wanna come?" Lance finally hissed through gritted teeth. Keith blinked, processed the request, and nodded slowly, not seeming very hesitant. Lance slowly clambered over the wall, pressing close to the cave wall nearest to him. His hair whipped around wildly as he stumbled, half blinded by the shockingly fast wind he was bombarded with. He felt Keith shuffle beside him, only being able to feel him as it was nearly impossible to keep his eyes open. He squinted through the fast moving air at Keith, and then back at Hunk and Pidge who looked horrified. Lance mouthed _‘I'm sorry’_ to them and inched sideways, keeping his back pressed to the wall.

It was an incredible sight, seeing the wings flash by them in a spectacle of pink scales. While they had entered the lower section of the cave, they had missed the fact that the butterflies had taken off. They were now picking up more and more speed, racing only a foot or two off the ground. Lance's eyes were locked on them, completely entranced. Then he made what was almost the dumbest decision of the day.

 

He reached out, slowly and carefully, fingertips brushing the scales on one of the passing butterflies.

 

For a split second, the cyclone of movement ceased completely. Lance stared, terrified, at his hand, which was now covered in sparkly magenta glitter. He looked up, face to face with three sets of compound eyes. Its dead looking eyes bored into him while it hovered in place, looking like something out of a nightmare. The sudden, frightening clarity of his vision shook him to his core. Lance could've sworn his heart stopped in that moment. He didn't know for sure, but he assumed Keith was just as scared.

Then the circle began again, more rapidly, this time centered around Lance. The fearfully fast winds nearly lifted him off his feet, dragging him into the center, right by the blinding light of the crystal. His back connected with it, knocking the air out of him. He faintly heard his friends cry out, before it was drowned in the sound of wings flapping. He felt something crash into him heavily, ensuring his inability to breathe. That something was Keith, who met him with an alarmed expression as they were shoved together in the chaos. They both held each other's shoulders tightly, squeezing their eyes shut as the painful whirlwind nearly blinded them once more. The pace sped up, faster and faster until Lance was sure they were being lifted off the ground. The blistering speed of the hurricane surrounding them made his face numb. He felt it swirl around and around, him still being unable to snag a breath, almost like they were taunting him. Everything spun, his ears and nose felt like they were frozen, and the only thing solid he could grab onto was Keith’s armor in front of him. His grip be gain to fail as spots danced in front of his tightly closed eyes. Faster, and faster and faster and-

The mayhem stopped short. It was quickly confirmed that yes, they were actually being suspended in air, as both boys fell back down. Keith landed roughly on top of Lance with a grunt. The two gasped for air, unable to open their eyes for a few moments.

Lance sat up, opening his eyes slowly. They were still parallel to each other, grasping onto each other tightly, Keith firmly on top of Lance. The first thing they saw were each other’s eyes. Panic welled in the two of them at the sudden change in their surroundings, but before either of them could react, something… _soothing_ washed over them.

Lance felt... _Warm_. Warm and pleasant, deep in his chest.

His face no longer hurt from the cold. The feeling in his fingertips was replaced with _warm_. Soft. Calm. He shifted his eyes down at his dust-coated hands, and back up met to Keith's glazed over expression. He looked like he wasn't completely awake, and Lance was sure he did too. He felt like he was still floating, but in a different, tranquil way. They stayed locked together, Keith firmly in his lap, just staring at one another. The previously alarming surroundings might as well have been non-existent. Lance didn't notice how, but Keith's eyes seemed faintly different, somehow. They were… comforting. All he could feel was Keith's warmth and something soft and wonderful in his chest. They slowly leaned closer. Lance allowed his eyes to close gently as he got near.

Fireworks. Lance’s heart exploded with light when they slowly closed the gap between them, connecting in a wonderful, beautiful kiss. He embraced Keith, never wanting to be separate again. He must've been completely out of his mind, otherwise he would be freaking out. He just _kissed_ Keith- but he seemed to be in some kind of trance. They kept kissing. Lance slipped his hand into Keith's hair. He felt like he was in a cloud. He hardly noticed that he leaned forward and softly pressed Keith down. It didn't register that they were kissing more and more intensely. Nothing seemed to get through at all but Keith's shallow breathing and soft lips, until Lance was pulled completely off of him.

Lance was yanked, quite literally into reality again as he saw Hunk kneeling right beside him, the most shocked expression on his face. He felt his heavy hand on his shoulder, and Lance assumed it was he who pulled him off of Keith. Lance felt reality descend upon him like a punch to the gut. What the fuck did he just do? Panic set in as he gawked at Hunk, and then Pidge, (who both looked equally astonished) and then back at-

The second he locked eyes with Keith once more his whole body wavered. At first Keith looked bewildered, as expected, but when their eyes met everything melted away again. They began to gravitate together, both enchanted by the other. A sharp shout from Hunk snapped Lance back to attention again, who jumped back off of Keith finally.

"Lance, what the hell is going on!? What's up with you two? What just happened?" Hunk cried, with Pidge behind him unable to form words. Lance was sweating and stammering, trying to piece together exactly what the fuck _was_ happening, while trying to fight the crushing temptation to look back at Keith again. "I-I-uh," he looked nervously between the two, feeling some strong, physical, almost magnetic force pulling him towards the direction he knew Keith was in. He tried to shive it down. "I-I think that was some weird… butterfly magic? I just-I don't know what came over me. I couldn't…control myself." He rubbed his temples and stared at the ground, actively fighting the pull he felt towards Keith. It had to be magic. It couldn't just be Lance's lack of control. "I didn't- I couldn't have-" Lance’s train of thought was completely and utterly derailed. What he felt could only be described as thoroughly defeated. 

Pidge finally seemed to find her voice. "Are you okay, Keith? You look pretty, uh, spaced out." She asked hesitantly. A million anxious thoughts flew through Lance's mind at the mention of Keith’s name, but his mind seemed to shut off when he heard Keith’s… _beautiful_ voice. "I-I guess. I feel... strange. I can’t describe it…" His voice was low and gentle. Lance shuddered. He started to turn his head but painfully caught himself. He stood up and looked woefully at Hunk before he made the quick, nervous decision of hurriedly leading them towards the mouth of the cave. They didn't have to say it, but they were all going straight to tell Allura what happened. Besides all the other weird things Lance was feeling, he was also worried that because of this incident, Allura wouldn't let them mess around anymore. Also that he just made out with fucking _Keith_! His crush on Keith was his darkest, most well hidden, most denied secret. So hidden he barely realized the magnitude of his feelings until now. Hell, it's portably his only _real_ secret, and now he has to confront it because he just frenched Keith in front of his two closest friends!

Lance wanted to dive into the water below. Instead, he briskly lead them towards the castle, wanting to completely disappear. He could feel the heat on his face, which was enough to struggle with, but he could almost sense exactly where Keith was behind him. He wanted to turn around and tackle him, or do something else crazy, but he fought valiantly to not embarrass himself further. The castle soon came into sight with their quick pace, and Lance half ran towards the doors. Without looking behind him, he marched his fellow Paladins into the castle to be met with a… _smug_ looking Allura and an unusually relaxed Shrio.

"So, how'd it go?" Allura asked, a hint of slyness in her voice that Lance did not like the feeling of. Hunk piped up before Lance was forced to publicly humiliate himself, thank God. "Uh, we ran into some um, _issues_." He mumbled nervously. Allura's face sank a little. "Why, whatever is the matter? Didn't you all have a fun time bonding with each other?" She questioned, seeming _very_ puzzled. Hunk quietly described to her what had happened, with Lance not being able to hear exactly what he said. He jittered, being more and more unable to resist just _one_ quick peek at Keith. Instead, Lance kept his focus strained on the castle floor. Once Hunk was finished relaying the incident, Allura gasped, suddenly looking very worried.

"Oh my goodness, Keith, Lance, I'm so sorry! This is my fault.” She turned to them, Lance entering a state of defensiveness. 

“You see, those butterflies have a rather special property to them. They perform a ritual that brings out, um...the way people… _feel_ …about each other, and well... I somewhat set this up."

Lance's face froze in shock. Before he could have any hope of forming a response, Allura spoke again. "But _this_ … This was not the intended outcome…I had no idea you..." She paused and gave Lance an apologetic look that made him want to delete himself from existence. "I'm so sorry, I assumed it would make you realize your _friendship_ and finally cooperate, as a team, but… I didn't account for…” Lance winced. “Feelings of… _attraction_." She delivered her words carefully, but it couldn't save Lance at this point from being completely mortified. Shiro’s eyes widened, his trademark concerned father face returning.

_But wait_ … Lance thought. _That means that Keith…reciprocates, right?_ Lance mentally kicked himself for even daring to think such a thing, but the question still burned in the back of his mind. He finally got the nerve to study his friends' faces, seeing the worry and awkwardness plastered on all of them.

Allura cleared her throat and spoke again. "It's um, something I've never seen personally before, but whenever you look said person in the eye, you are reminded of...those _feelings_...whatever they may be. My father and his team used the Dychlarzin butterfly ceremony as a way to remind the former Paladins of their bond as a team when they were having a quarrel. Again, I'm so sorry, this- this was not at all my intention. I-I frankly had no idea." Lance was ready to just lay down on the floor for a few days. Why did he have to be so stupid? Why couldn't he have just _watched_ the butterflies instead of acting like a jackass? His mind cycled through laments until he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder.

It felt like time stopped. He shivered. He had to do it. He couldn't help but turn around.

Lance almost fell over. There was Keith, gazing up softly at him, his eyes reflecting pink in the castle’s lighting. Lance felt his anxieties leave him again as they joined hands. He didn't notice in his stupor, but his friends were all studying him closely, all of them in complete awe. Lance stepped closer, both of them taking each other in. "Lance," Keith sighed, like it was just natural to say his name like that. Lance wasn't sure if he should kiss him, bite his neck, or just pass out on the floor. He went with choice one.

They were both completely oblivious to their surroundings, but the rest of the team gasped loudly. "Well, at least they're finally admitting it, huh?" Pidge chimed in nervously. Nobody really responded. Everyone's eyes were wide, Allura was pale, and Shiro had his jaw tightly clenched, a vein in his forehead protruding. They finally moved to intervene when things got a little too heated, with Lance grabbing Keith's wrists tightly, their kisses becoming less…PG. When they were broken apart, everyone was just as mortified as the two directly affected by the Dyclarzin magic. Shiro looked like he'd seen a ghost. Allura once again stepped forward to Lance and Keith, this time keeping her voice low. "I'm afraid there's only one way for this too wear off, from my rather limited knowledge.” She looked from side to side, clearly dreading what she was about to say. Her voice dropped even lower. “I, um, think you two should go to one of your rooms."

Lance was amazed he didn't drop dead right then and there. He dazedly stumbled out of the hall, immediately sensing Keith behind him. “Be safe you two! The next few hours will have…lots of swinging moods, as you Earthlings say!" Allura called after them, painfully forcing a laugh. “And _please_ , try to be discreet! Pidge is 14!” Lance felt like a kicked puppy as they started to walk to well, one of their quarters. What did she mean by that? A million possibilities raged through his anxious mind. Did she really mean…?

The door shut behind them. On Allura's side of the door, she turned to face the rest of the Paladins. "I deeply apologize. Hunk, Pidge. I did not wish for you two to have to, um, witness that, first hand." Hunk laughed anxiously and Pidge looked just as shell shocked as before. Shiro broke his stare with the ground before turning to the princess apprehensively.

"Allura, are they going to...?" He had a stern tone to his voice, but overall sounded fearful. Allura again repeated her condolences at a whisper. "I-I'm afraid so, Shiro. That's the cure in this kind of situation. I'm so dreadfully sorry, this must be extremely difficult for you…" She sighed and contemplated how to go about the rest of the day. Shiro gulped and ran his hands through his hair. He could only image in fatherly horror what was on the other side of that door.


	2. Update

Just a quick update-

I definitely intend on finishing this work and publishing others I’ve been working on, but the universe is kicking my ass right now. I’ve had several family crises, then it was my birthday (lucky me), school and work have been a ton lately, and overall I just haven’t had the time, energy or stability to finish up this next chapter, but IT IS COMING!!! It’s already partially done, so when my life stops it’s head first dive into insanity I’ll get to it.

~SSB


End file.
